Ohio teen killed, 5 hurt, after train strikes SUV

A train struck an SUV driven by a 15-year-old girl who recently received her learner's permit, killing the teen and injuring her four sisters and father near their northeast Ohio home, Portage County authorities said.

No lights, gates or special signals mark the crossing where the southbound train struck the SUV on Sunday evening in Ravenna, roughly 35 miles southeast of Cleveland, Portage County Sheriff David Doak said Monday.

Only stop signs and signs indicating a railroad mark the crossing, he said.

Sierra Thornton, 15, who died at the scene, had recently received her learner's permit to begin driving. Doak said it appears she panicked as the train approached and may not have known whether to back up. Her father, Andrew Thornton, had indicated he'd heard a train shortly before it struck, Doak said.

"The whole thing happened in a matter of seconds," Doak said. He said the tracks were just a few dozen yards from the family's house in Ravenna Township, which they had just left.

Andrew Thornton, 41, and the girl's sisters were taken to hospitals. Doak said the father was treated and released along with two of the sisters. Two other sisters remained hospitalized Monday, Doak said.

The younger sisters are ages 9, 10, 12 and 13, according to the sheriff's office. Doak said his office typically doesn't release the names of juveniles.

Neighbors told The Record-Courier, which employs Andrew Thornton as a newspaper carrier, that trains frequently pass the crossing and use loud horns to alert nearby drivers. It wasn't clear whether that happened before the Sunday collision.

Doak said it wasn't clear yet whether the father had heard a horn or the sound of the train itself.

An autopsy was planned Monday, a coroner's investigator told The Record-Courier. Calls to the coroner were not answered.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Ohio teen killed, 5 hurt, after train strikes SUV

A train struck an SUV driven by a 15-year-old girl who recently received her learner's permit, killing the teen and injuring her four sisters and father near their northeast Ohio home, Portage County